ESL Subject and Object Pronoun Activities and Games

If you’re looking for some games and activities to help your students out with subject-object pronouns, then you’re in the right place. Keep on reading for all the details you need to know about subject and object pronoun games and activities, along with worksheets, lesson plans and more. They are a key component of ESL parts of speech.

A personal pronoun replaces a specific object or person in a sentence. There are the following subject pronouns: I, you, he, she, we, they, who, which are the actors in a sentence. Then, there are the following object pronouns: me, you, him, her, us, them, whom. These are the words that receive the action in a sentence.

ESL Pronouns (Subjects and Objects) Games and Activities

If you’re looking for some of the best ESL activities and games for subject/object pronouns, then keep on reading! Here are our top 15 picks for a subject and object pronoun game for your English classes.

#1: Write a Paragraph about Someone Using Subject and Object Pronouns

In this simple activity, students have to write a paragraph about someone they know. It could be a friend, classmate or family member. Remind students that the point of the activity is to make use of pronouns so ask them to include at least a few of them in this. Write them on the board so students have something to refer to during the writing time.

For beginners, you may require them to just write a sentence or two. And, it may be helpful to show them some examples of what you expect and give them something to partially copy from.

I love to include some writing activities in my conversation or 4-skills English classes because it allows me to correct errors really easily and see whether or not my students are getting the hang of this grammar point.

#2: Dialogue Substitution for Object Pronouns

A dialogue is a very common way that subject object pronouns are introduced in ESL/EFL textbooks. But, have you ever noticed that if you ask students to read them with a partner, they just breeze through them and don’t really pay that close of attention to what they’re reading?

A way to combat this and turn a very simple reading activity into one that focuses on meaning and forms as well is to remove some words. In this case you’ll probably want to take out the pronouns. Then, students have to read it together and fill in the blanks.

Does it sound like this ESL reading activity would work well for your students? You can learn more about it here:

Dialogue Substitution Reading Activity.

#3: Hot Potato ESL Pronoun Game

If you want to create a little bit of fun and excitement in your classes, then you’ll definitely want to check out the hot potato game. It’s fun, engaging and students (particularly kids) seem to love it.

In advance, prepare a list of questions to ask your students. Then, have them pass around the hot potato (any object) and when the timer goes off or the music stops, the person holding it has to do something.

In this case, the person will have to answer a question using a pronoun. For example:

• What do you think of (Famous singer ABC)? I like him/her.
• What do you think about someone who eats pizza for breakfast? I think they‘re unhealthy!

Do you want to find out more about how to use this fun game with your students? Check it out here:

TEFL Hot Potato Game.

#4: Subject and Object Pronoun Videos

I love to use some videos in my English classes. The good news is that there is a video for almost any topic, grammar point or vocabulary set on YouTube. However, the key is to get the most value out of them by having some pre, and post-watching activities. At the very least, you’ll want to have students watch something to pick out examples of these kinds of pronouns.

Or, you might want to consider showing another teacher’s explanation instead of giving the students a lecture yourself.

#5: Give it to Her/Him

Put students into groups of 4 and each student has to get 1 pencil, 1 eraser and 1 book. Then, each students takes turns telling one of their classmates to do something. For example:

• Give the pencil to him.
• Give your book to her.

Who has to give and receive the objects can be indicated using gestures and eye contact. The goal of the activity is to be the first person to get the same 4 matching objects.

#6: Proof Reading or Editing

If you want to give your students some additional practice opportunities with these kinds of pronouns, then consider making a passage with lots of them in it. Then, make sure there are lots of mistakes for your students to find. I generally tell my students exactly how many mistakes they should be looking for.

#7: How to Teach ESL Grammar Lessons

Are you a little bit shaky on the steps you should follow when planning a TEFL grammar lesson? Not to worry. Lots of teachers, even experienced ones are too.

The good news is that it’s not that difficult to plan a grammar lesson, including one for object or subject pronouns if you have a framework to follow. Check this out for the steps to follow:

Planning a TEFL Grammar Lesson.

#8: Subject and Object Pronoun Songs and Chants

If you take a look on YouTube, you’ll see that there are a ton of songs and chants that are designed for subject or object pronouns. You may want to consider using one because it’ll certainly make your lesson more memorable.

#9: Pronoun Charades

I’m sure you’ve played charades before? It’s a fun activity to use in our classes and gives our students a great review of vocabulary. However, you can also use it to work on subject and object pronouns for ESL students. You can make sentences like the following:

• She gave them hamburgers.
• They sold him a car.
• He stole her soccer ball.
• They listened to music.

Do you want to try it out with your students? You can see more details here:

Charades for ESL.

#10: English Grammar Activities

Teaching ESL grammar with things like subject or object pronouns is certainly necessary, but it can also be a little bit boring! The key is to use a variety of activities to keep things fresh and make the lesson more memorable. Here are some of our top picks:

Grammar Activities ESL.

#11: ESL Role Plays Featuring Subject or Object Pronouns

If you teach beginners, an activity that you might want to consider is role-plays. It’s basically the start of a conversation with some blanks in it that students have to fill in with their own ideas. Of course, you should feature lots of this specific grammar point!

Then, I have students memorize their conversation and do a quick presentation in front of the class. Find out more details about it here:

ESL Role Plays.

#12: More Ideas for Teaching ESL

#13: Running Dictation

I LOVE this ESL activity and I’m sure your students will too! It covers a range of skills and best of all, gets students up and out of their seats moving around the classroom. Plus, it lends itself well to just about any topic, vocabulary set or grammar point including this one.

Want to know more about how to use this in your classes? You can see all the details here:

Running Dictation.

#14: Flashcard Subject/Object Pronoun Sentences 

#15: Telephone Object Pronoun Game

Try out this fun ESL game for kids. I’m sure you’ve played it before—you have to pass a message down the line and then compare what comes out at the end with the original version. In this case, you’d want to sprinkle in a good dose of ESL pronouns into it.

Find out how to play this game here:

ESL Telephone Activity.

#16: ESL Sentence Structure Activities for Subject Pronouns

Spending some time working on building better sentences will always be a fruitful activity for a TEFL class. It can be a little bit tricky to learn how to use subject pronouns and object pronouns which is why I like to use some of these activities to help my students review this important concept.

Want to check out some of the best ones? Have a look right here:

ESL Sentence Building Activities.

Subject and Objects Pronouns Worksheets

Why reinvent the wheel if there are already a ton of other great resources out there? You can easily find so many subject and object pronoun worksheets at the following websites:

ISL Collective

Easy Teacher Worksheets

All Things Grammar

ESL Pronoun Lesson Plans

Okay, so if you want some serious teaching gold then you’ll love a ready made ESL lesson plan that you can just print and go for subject or object pronouns. It can potentially save you a ton of time. Here are some of our recommendations:

ThoughtCo

ESL Kids Stuff

TEFL Handbook

Online Practice for Subject and Object Pronouns

Do your students need some extra practice for using subject object pronouns? The good news is that there are a ton of website that offer online practice for pronouns. Here are some of our top picks:

Perfect English Grammar

Using English

Learn English Online

Did you Like these Subject/Object Pronoun Activities ESL?

Yes? Thought so. Then the book you’re going to love is this one over on Amazon: 39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Grammar Activities. The key to better English classes is a wide variety of interesting, engaging and student-centred activities and games. And this book will help you do exactly that in style!

You can find this book in both digital and print formats. Get the digital version by downloading the free Kindle reading app onto any device. Then, you hang out at your favourite coffee shop to do a serious lesson planning session. Or, consider getting a copy to keep on the bookshelf in your office to use as a handy reference guide. Either way, it’ll help you level up your teaching game in a big way.

Do you want to find out more about the book? Then you’ll need to head over to Amazon to pick yourself up a copy today, but only if you want to get yourself a serious dose of ESL teaching awesome in your life:

ESL Subject and Object Pronoun FAQs

There are a number of common questions that people have about this topic. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.

What is a subject or object pronoun?

A subject pronoun takes the place of a subject and includes I, he, she, you, it, we, they. Object pronouns take the place of an object in a sentence and include the following: me, you, him, her, them, us, it.

What is an object pronoun example?

Here are some examples of object pronouns in a sentence:

He told them the truth (them=parents, police, etc.)

Give the ball to him (him = the dog, your brother, etc.)

How do you teach object pronouns to ESL?

Teaching object pronouns to ESL students isn’t always easy but it’s ideal to use a variety of interactive and student-centred ESL activities and games. Also, look at the placement of object pronouns in basic sentences, get students to fill in the blanks with subject and object pronouns and finally, have them make their own sentences.

What are the 7 Object Pronouns?

In English, the 7 object pronouns are: me, you, him, her, us, them, and whom.

Have your Say about Subject and Object Pronoun ESL Activities

What are your thoughts about these pronoun games and activities? Did you use one of them from this list, or do you have another pronouns activity that you’d like to recommend? Leave a comment below and let us know. We’d love to hear from you.

Also be sure to give this article a share on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. It’ll help other busy English teachers, like yourself find this useful resource.

Oh, and if you’re looking for some resources for indefinite pronouns, you’ll want to check this out: Indefinite Pronouns Activities. 

Last update on 2021-10-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API